Mapping the T’s monopoles

Is a 74-foot WiFi pole coming to a location near you?

Below is an interactive map developed by the MBTA showing the proposed locations of the 74-foot monopoles scheduled to go up along commuter rail lines to improve WiFi service on trains.

The poles have generated a lot of opposition in Andover and a handful of other communities north of Boston, where residents fear the structures will mar the historic nature of their towns and depress property values. T officials have promised another report on the WiFi initiative Aug. 14.

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According to estimates gathered by opponents of the poles, five of them would be located in Andover and three in North Andover. The most poles will be located in Boston (28) and Braintree (9), with Gloucester, Somerville, Wilmington, and Worcester all scheduled to have eight.

The best way to read the map is to click in the upper right-hand corner to view a larger, interactive version. Then click on the dots to see the town and location by latitude and longitude. The colored dots north of Boston signify communities that have been notified about the pole locations, while the gray dots to the south indicate communities that have not been informed yet.

Transit system facing $111 million deficit to start…

To paraphrase Beyoncé, put a price on it

Don’t we already have millions upon millions of 74 foot poles in the state? They’re called trees.

This is absolutely ridiculous; all this fuss over 5 poles in Andover spread about 1 mile apart? Surely all these fools have better things to waste their time on than preventing such a utilitarian upgrade to our public transportation infrastructure.

Aeroguy

A nerdy comment:
Why not call them what they are, monopole ANTENNAS, at least once in the article?
Most antennas are DIPOLES, or arrays of dipoles. But the public does not know or care about that.
Same thing here.